Roguebook

As soon as I found out that Roguebook was a rogue-like deckbuilding game I knew that I was all in. It also has quite the pedigree behind it too! With a really cool fantasy setting, deep, but fun and accessible gameplay, this is probably going to be a game that features on many people’s game of the year list when the year comes to an end.

Trapped In A Book

The story of Roguebook is a fantasy story and the people behind this game are Faeria and a gentleman called, Richard Garfield and he is the person who created Magic The Gathering. Actually, the whole setting of the game gives you major Magic vibes if I am being honest. There is this ancient book that contains the stories of all the old legends. The book basically becomes sentient and now you are trapped inside and need to make your way through each chapter to get out. The presentation of the game is awesome. It has a dark and moody fantasy look to it and right from the start it captured my attention.

Picking Your Warriors

Before you start you have to pick two from four warriors. There is, Sharra, Sorocco, Seifer, and my personal favorite Aurora who is this weird turtle-looking character. Each character has their own deck and their own special abilities as you would expect in a game like this. You need to think about who you pick as each character’s abilities can complement the others so finding the perfect pair that suits your gameplay style is perfect.

There is a synergy system at play here. Not just in the way the character's abilities complement each other, but you have to choose which character is at the front and which one is at the back. The hero at the front is the only one that takes damage, so you can have your damage dealer at the back causing trouble and the character at the front protecting them. This adds a lot of strategy to the battles.

The Deck Of Your Dreams

A huge part of the game is deck building and each character has their own cards that they can use. You can also earn lots more cards as you play. This is a bit of a catch 22 situation. The more cards you have the more abilities you can use, but it does also mean that your deck is harder to manage.

Roguebook has a great sense of progression. Not just in building the deck of your dreams. But you can also get gems in the game which can be attached to cards to make them even more powerful. You can also “paint” the hexagonal game world as you progress to revealing new parts of the map.

Each chapter has its own theme and boss, but this game is tough. If you die, it is a full-on game over and you have to start again. I like this in a game of this style, but I get that it can be too punishing for some people.

Pros:

• Each hero feels truly unique
• The fantasy vibe that the game has is really cool
• There are tons of interesting cards to use
• I like the way the game progresses and the random nature of things keeps it interesting

Cons:

• This is the kind of game that can take a while to get into
• The whole permadeath thing will not sit well with everyone